Shayne Looper: A short history of a long rule

Jesus said it: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). But variations on the so-called “golden rule” predate Jesus by thousands of years.

Shayne Looper

Jesus said it: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). But variations on the so-called “golden rule” predate Jesus by thousands of years.

Some 500 years before Jesus was born, Confucius said, “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.” An ancient Hindu text has it this way: “That man who regards all creatures as his own self, and behaves towards them as towards his own self ... succeeds in attaining to happiness.”

The ancient Greeks knew the rule. The philosopher Thales of Miletus said, “Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.” The rule also appears in early Judaism. Rabbi Hillel told disciples: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation.” Christians, it seems, do not have a corner on the Golden Rule.

The universality of the Rule takes some people, supposing it to have originated with Jesus, by surprise. But Christians should not be surprised at finding their moral truths in other ancient religions. In fact, it is precisely what they should expect to find, since God has left testimony about himself, as the Apostle Paul claimed, around the world.

In the same apostle’s Letter to the Romans, he made clear that people of every religious persuasion “have the requirements of the law ... written on their hearts.” If this is true, it would be surprising if the golden rule was not found among people of other religions.

Still, before Jesus most versions of the rule were negative: “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” This negative statement of the rule is sometimes referred to as the “silver rule.”

Some religious scholars insist that these are just two ways of saying the same thing, but Professor William Mounce disagrees. He points out that the negative form of the rule “could be satisfied by doing nothing. The positive form moves us into action on behalf of others.”

Many people believe they are living by the golden rule who are doing nothing of the sort. When I pastored in another city, I went to nearly every house in the large neighborhood near our church, inviting people to services. When I got the chance, I engaged people in conversation about spiritual things.

I frequently asked people what they would say to God if he asked them why he should let them into heaven. People often said, “Well, I go to church — I mean, you know, not all the time, but when I can.” Others responded, “I would say I’ve been a good person.” But almost everyone said, “I never tried to hurt anybody.”

They thought, I suppose, that they were living by the golden rule. But they were at best keeping the silver rule — and then only because they were doing nothing at all. That is hardly what Jesus had in mind.

When Jesus gave us the golden rule he was not laying down a trite legalism that could be mindlessly carried out, nor was he stating a philosophical principle upon which a system of morality might be constructed. He was giving his followers a practical tool — a compass, if you will — that would help them follow him as they related to others.

Christians do not follow a rule; they follow Jesus. The golden rule is, however, a great help in doing so, though it takes considerable thought — and wisdom — to apply.

If we try to turn the golden rule into a universal moral principle, it will fail us, as the philosopher Immanuel Kant found out. If we try to turn it into a strict legalism, we will depersonalize and objectify the people around us. The unfortunate recipients of our moral largess will be identifiable by the haunted look in their eyes.

Shayne Looper is the pastor at the Lockwood Community Church in Michigan. He can be reached at salooper@dmcibb.net.